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Tearful Roger Federer bows out of tennis with Laver Cup defeat | Tennis News


LONDON: Roger Federer has described his tennis career as a “perfect journey” despite being denied a fairy tale that ended early Saturday with a double defeat at Laver Cup with a longtime rival Rafael Nadal.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion, due to a knee injury, has not played since the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2021 and last week announced his retirement at the age of 41.
Federer showed a glimpse of his old self against Team World’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock to the delight of a feverish partisan crowd at London’s O2 arena.
Federer and Nadal won the first set but the Americans rose to win 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 11-9.
The result meant Team Europe were eliminated 2-2 against Team World at the end of the opening day of the Ryder Cup-style event.
“We’ll get through this somehow, won’t we?” Federer said in a broken voice.
“I’m happy, I’m not sad. It feels great to be here and I would love to lace up my shoes one more time. Everything is the last. The match was great, I couldn’t be happier. Really great”. ”
Federer has had the feat of going up against Spain’s Nadal for almost two decades – together they won 42 Grand Slam singles titles in the golden era for men’s table tennis.
The pair first met in 2004, having played 40 times, including in nine Grand Slam finals, with Nadal holding a 24-16 win record.
But in a match that started late on Friday, they were on the same side of the net to bid farewell to Federer, who turned professional almost a quarter of a century ago.
There was a resounding cheer and a standing ovation as the Swiss great and Nadal stepped out onto the black court, wearing a blue shirt and white shorts, both wearing white headbands.
Both teams served fairly comfortably at the start of the match, with the cry of “Let’s Go Roger, Let’s Go” breaking out at 3-3.
But Federer and Nadal took the first break in the 10th game, winning the first set when Sock hit a backhand to the cheers.
The American pair leveled the match by easily breaking a break in the second set.
In a tie-break of an intense match, Federer failed to serve for the match 9-8, and the Americans took the next three points to win.
The Swiss tennis player couldn’t help but feel emotional afterwards, hugging teammate Nadal tightly and waving to the crowd.
He couldn’t hold back his emotion when speaking in the arena during his on-field interview, he was moved to tears.
“Playing with Rafa on the same team, and there are men, everyone here, all legends… thank you,” said Federer, who has joined his parents, wife Mirka and four children. their children go to court.
“For me, it’s like a memory,” he added. “I wanted to feel like this in the end and it was exactly what I hoped for so thank you. It was a perfect journey and I would do it all again.”
The European Group of Six also includes Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – the two remaining members of the so-called “Big Four”, who have dominated male content for many years.
Italy’s Matteo Berrettini will replace Federer over the weekend, with the Swiss opting out of singles matches.
Europe has won all four previous Laver Cup hosts and is 2-0 up after its opening game in London, thanks to wins for Norway’s Casper Ruud and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Tsitsipas shrugged his shoulders at a dramatic outcry in court by a protester who burned his own arm to protest the use of private jets to beat Diego Schwartzman of Argentina by 6–6. 2, 6-1.
In the evening session, Murray lost to De Minaur with a score of 5-7, 6-3, 10-7 before all eyes were on Federer.
The Swiss tennis player left the stage 19 years after winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in 2003.
He retired with a record eight Wimbledon titles for men, a total of 103 titles and more than $130 million in prize money, winning with a match defined by rare elegance and precision.
Nadal (22) and Djokovic (21) have both surpassed Federer in Grand Slam titles but World Team captain John McEnroe said Federer’s retirement will leave “a void that will never be filled”. .





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